From the Editor-in-Chief

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Every superstar in the Hindi film industry has banked on a formula to become a national icon. If Rajesh Khanna was the eternal romantic of the 1960s, Amitabh Bachchan embodied the repressed anger of a young nation in the 1970s. The 1990s belonged to Shah Rukh Khan, who represented a post-liberalisation globalised generation. He gave a new twist to the romantic lover boy, naughty and passionate, yet totally devoted to Indian values. Ranbir Kapoor, the new superstar of Indian cinema, doesn't have a formula to his stardom.

He is just 30 and has done 10 films since his towel-dropping debut in Sanjay Leela Bansali's Saawariya in 2007, but it's impossible to slot him in any particular image. From the goofy salesman in Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009) to the scheming political heir in Raajneeti (2010), from the good Samaritan in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009) to the superstar rocker in Rockstar (2011), from the aimless and confused youngster in Wake Up Sid (2009) to the ambitious traveller in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (YJHD), his roles are as varied as that of a seasoned character actor.

Our June 2010 cover

Some may argue that the credit should go to the new environment in Bollywood as several talented directors are experimenting with subjects and forms that don't conform to type. But such experiments have rarely created superstars. "I challenge any star from my time till now to take the kind of risks this boy has taken," his proud father, actor Rishi Kapoor, says. With the risks have come great rewards. His latest film, YJHD, grossed over Rs 170 crore in three weeks. His previous release, Barfi!, was also a Rs 100-crore blockbuster.

This is a rather curious phenomenon in the Hindi film industry which is likely to be worth nearly Rs 30,000 crore next year. Ranbir defies almost all the market tricks supposed to ensure an entry into the coveted Rs 100-crore club-six-pack abs, gravity-defying action sequences, mindless comedy, provocative item numbers and songs with beautiful women in foreign locations. Movie-goers paid to watch him not utter a single word in Barfi! and lose his girl in Rockstar. This is where Ranbir has evolved beyond his star power. His biggest USP is perhaps this element of unpredictability. Viewers still don't know what to expect of him.

Deputy Editor Kunal Pradhan spent 50 hours over four days with Ranbir to decode the man behind the star. He followed the actor to his film shoots, discussed film promos in his vanity van, worked out with the actor in the gym and even spent time with him in his first-floor room. In his real world, the reel superstar is quite predictable. He still lives with his parents, is obsessed with video games, watches football with friends and is terrified of his dominating father. "Interviewing Ranbir feels like hanging out with any regular person just entering his 30s. He is unafraid to reveal himself, which is a rare trait in any public figure, particularly an actor," says Pradhan.

Being on the cover of India Today was one of Ranbir's four wishes when he joined films. With this issue, his wish gets fulfilled twice over. We put him on the cover first in our June 21, 2010, issue for being the boy wonder who dared to shun formulaic films. Three years later, that risk-taking ability has allowed him to be emblematic of new-age Bollywood. The real big test for the actor is what he will do from here. As his friend Ayan Mukerji, director of YJHD, says: "To see how he changes as a superstar will be interesting. When he's 40, will he still be open to meeting a young, unknown director with a new script? That will decide whether he becomes the next Shah Rukh Khan or someone even bigger."

That's for later. Let's revel now, in the new superstar hero who's defying every stereotype of superstardom.